In today’s world of hunting for both internships and full-time positions, the competition for securing a job is high. While internships, solid grades and a well-rounded resume are all beneficial when trying to stand out in a stack of applications, one opportunity many students overlook is the possibility to participate in shadowing experiences. As I finish up my senior year and decide what companies I want to apply to, I decided to participate in two job shadows this past winter break. Although nerve-wracking, I am convinced they are going to help me more in my job search than any resume workshop.

Four Benefits of Participating in a Job Shadow

1. Get to know the business:

As much as learning in classes and reading about certain jobs in textbooks or online is helpful, nothing is as good as experiencing the job firsthand. Participating in a job shadow is a great opportunity to see the day-to-day operations of the company. It also can give insight into if it is the right environment for you or if another career would be a better fit.

Tory Cross, sophomore in LAS, shadowed an oncologist at Cottage Hospital in Santa Barbara, Calif., for a few days during winter break. In the end, the job shadow solidified her decision to pursue a career working with cancer patients.

Cross wants to pursue a career in the medical field, but it can be difficult to get internship experience as medicine requires a license. Her job shadow let her follow around an oncologist and observe meetings with patientsand meet other people, such as nurses and physicians assistants, to understand why they went into oncology.

2. Make connections:

One of the most important pieces of advice given to students on the job hunt is that connections are everything. The phrase “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know” has been pounded into my head over and over.

But how do you go about making connections in the professional world?

A job shadow is one way to get to meet people in a more casual environment. Career fairs and recruiting events can be more stressful because hundreds of students are trying to talk to and impress one person. There simply is not enough time. Job shadows offer students the chance to have more personal conversations and form relationships with professionals in a much more intimate setting.

During my job shadow, I sat down for decent amounts of time and learned what working at the company is really like. People are flattered when asked for their advice. I received a lot of solid information and make connections that will help in my job search.

3. Practice run:

In the job search and application process, nailing the interview is the most crucial part of landing a job. Looking like a good applicant on paper does not mean anything if you cannot persuade the interviewer to hire you.

One benefit of a job shadow is being able to sit down with professionals and practice talking to them about the field you are interested in working in. Talking to professionals is much different from talking to friends or fellow classmates, and it is nice to get some practice in a nonthreatening environment.

I even picked up some terminology from my job shadowing experience that I had never learned in school that could help distinguish myself in any upcoming interviews. A job shadow is in some ways a practice run for interviews.

4. Available to everyone:

While internships can be highly competitive and difficult to secure, especially for younger students, job shadows are much more accessible to people.

As I have found out, it is simple to reach out to companies or professionals that seem interesting and relevant to future career goals.

People are usually flattered that you ask for their advice in the field and want to hear their stories. They are often more than happy to set up a time for them to bestow their knowledge and guidance on the future employees of the company.

Kelly is a senior in LAS and can be reached at [email protected].